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Friday, 5 July 2013

Kids Closet Organization

Today is your day! You're off to Great Places! You're off and away! - Dr. Seuss

Have you ever read Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss? It comes highly recommended for children and adults of all ages.

Finley received it as a gift from my step sister and we have fallen in love with it! And now that his bedroom closet is complete I can't help but think of that story every time I look at it. The vibrant colours, organization, and play zone make me feel that Robert and I have contributed, in a small way, to his development and imagination that will span his lifetime.

Is that silly? Perhaps. But just you take a look and tell me that it wouldn't inspire you.

What do you say? Inspiring? Maybe just a tad?

Ill be honest with you, bold bright colours are not typically my thing. But I know that if Finley could talk he would insist on it. So I might as well go ahead and admit defeat here and now. That is how parenting works isn't it? *Hehe.

No matter how you slice it this closet has come a long way from where it started. And since we gave it rather a lot of thought, Robert and I are confident it will go the distance for many years to come. Allow me to walk you through a close up.

We left the top shelf and hang-bar as is but added these bright rubber bins for accessible storage.

Since Finley is still wee-bitty these currently hold clothing he has yet to grow in to. They used to be stored by size in totes in a spare closet {pictured here} but it wasn't practical for switching in and out as he grows. This way everything is readily available for him or any young tot who might need something when visiting. And keeping things organized and up to date wont be a huge job but something easily kept up on a daily basis.

Instead of separating by size I opted to sort by item: sweaters, pants, t-shirts, swim gear, and onsies. Within the bins they are organized by size. But I have found that the sizes do not always hold true and if you're not careful your child could outgrow something he or she never had a chance to wear. So do take a look at the clothes themselves and check in every now and then to see if there is anything that can be incorporated in with the current wardrobe.

Beneath that top shelf we added our DIY painted peg board, which you can read all about here. I am thrilled with how it turned out and the personality it adds to the small space.

But beyond good looks, it also adds countless organization options. Right now it is a great place for stuffies and hats but will evolve and change along with Finley and his interests.

And finally, beneath that peg board you will find two newly added shelves spanning the width of the closet {check out the process here}. Ahh...function at its finest.

We wanted storage that would work for any scenario: Finley now up through teenager. Switching Finley out of this room, to the bigger room with a brother perhaps, and converting this room to an office/craft space for me. Or selling and having another family take the rains. These shelves will be perfectly functional in any scenario. *The only exception would be a grown teen/adult ladies closet because of the longer dresses. Unless said gal was only into mini skirts and then we are all set.

Currently, the majority of Finley's clothes are in his green dresser because it is the most functional since the changing pad is there. But I did go ahead and move his jammies over to the closet so that when the time comes that he is able to understand, he will pick out his own at bed time.

As he grows we will slowly move the clothes over to the hang-bar and add additional bins for clothes and toys. The shelves were built high enough to store bins both on the floor and shelf {16 in all}. And I imagine the top of the shelf will be the perfect play place for cars and legos for years. After which it could hold more bins, toiletries, or the like.

My prediction is already on track to being right. *When he is a tad taller I may stencil a chalkboard road for his dinkie cars.

Simple labelled bins make this space easily accessible for anyone coming to help out with Finn. Including his father because I am all the time changing things around on him. The simple style is easy to reproduce as the items change.

*I'd like to laminate to make the labels kid friendly. Or, if I can expand my crafting supplies in the near future, I would like to add drawings of the items inside along with both the English and French spellings.

But we have a little time before we get to those steps. Until then we will enjoy our newly upgraded and organized closet/play zone. Finn and I alike!

Now it is your turn. How do you use your closet spaces? Are they all general storage or does one, or more, serve a higher purpose. Or perhaps you have never thought of a closet as anything other than basic storage. I'd love to hear your perspective and ideas. Do share.

Christine, a fellow reader, has been following along with this closet organization project and she set to work in her daughters room. Check out the progress she made!

She set out to organize the closet and ended up sorting through the dresser and rearranging the room as well. I a little hard work goes a long way. And would bet any amount of money she feels better every time she goes into that room!

15 comments:

Absolutely incredible job of organization, love the bright colours. Love the picture of Finn reading in his chair, and especially the picture of him adjusting the shelf lol....little Mr Fix It Finn already.

Really super idea with the 2 shelves on the bottom half - will be great to zoom cars, trucks or trains along, and if you paint a little road - how amazing! My 11 year old son's closet consists of clothes hanging up one end (with a shoe bin underneath) and the other end is piled high with toy boxes! It seems the older they get, the bigger the toys so the bigger the boxes need to be; plus he won't have us throw anything out!!!

Thank you kindly Petra for your kind feedback!I can understand your struggle with closet organization. And honestly, that is why I went ahead and created some organization early on in Finns room so we didn't have to deal with those struggles down the road!Good luck on your own endeavours!

The peg board was a last minute thought I had and I am SO glad I went with it! Already the possibilities are coming to me.I am flattered that you will be linking up to me! Ill stop by to check out your page asap.